We finally did it! We made cloth shopping bags so we can stop using plastic bags and it feels gooooood!

According to the Earth Resource Foundation (and several other scientific organizations), by not using plastic bags we will be helping to reduce the number of plastic bags that become litter, lessen the impact on marine wildlife who can ingest or get caught up in the plastic bags, limit our usage of a material that can take one thousand years to decompose in landfills, and much more! It feels good, let us tell you!

It was a pretty fun process, despite a few sewing machine malfunctions and kitty interruptions! Ever since Corinne made her beautiful bag, we've been itching to make some for ourselves! We used this pattern because the shape is nice and it's pretty big so we can use it at the grocery store or IKEA (yes, please)! The one thing it's missing is a lining...but we can add that later. 

They're simple! But cute, right? Does anyone have any other fun patterns for shopping bags? We'd like to make more since there's a strong possibility we might need more than one shopping bag each!

Since I've been living at home, Mom and I have been trying to finish projects we started a while ago but never finished.It's funny how satisfying it is to finally complete something that's just been sitting there, looking all sad and pathetic with like glue or threads hanging off of it almost saying "help me! help me!" I found an unfinished wooden jewelry box from Michaels a while back and since it was pretty cheap I decided to get it, worrying a little that I might never actually paint it or fix it up the way I wanted. But Mom and I got creative and decided to have a fun artsy day so I painted the box off-white to match the rest of the furniture I have (my dresser, bookshelf, and nightstand all match thanks to my dad and Wayne), then we searched high and low for flocked paper that would look good and be soft enough to put my jewelry on for years to come! We finally found some at Papersource (because it is heaven) and I went to town! I'm pretty happy with it especially since it was an easy project!

We have another project coming up for this long weekend (hopefully) that will help us to complete at least one of my New Years resolutions which is to stop (completely) using plastic bags! I know, I know...A little late but better late than never, right? We picked out some beautiful fabric from the oh so wonderful IKEA a month or so ago and I can't wait to use it! I figure that if I have a really cute shopping bag then I'll be more inclined to remember and use it...hopefully.We'll post pictures of the process and completed project soon! In the mean time, here's a sneak peak at Julie's new project!

Thank goodness it's Friday! I think this is the first time since elementary school that I've been around so many Valentine's Day cards! I'm not quite tired of them yet since I am a lover of all things pink unlike my mom (ahem...excuse the shameless plug) and girly. I'm really excited about the possibilities of the new paper I got. I love the almost vintage aesthetic of the cages on modern, clear paper! I can't wait to make some cards with it!

Here's 5 things that made us happy this week! 

1. Lily the cat, perched atop her new tree, overseeing her kingdom. 
2. Just some of the Valentine's Day cards and items we made this week!
3. Boiling eggs to make my mom some egg salad for lunch. 
4. My new pretty paper! 
5. The oranges from Wayne's orange tree in the backyard! 

What kind of things make you happy?